Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13-15, 1942 (Paperback)

~ Eric M. Hammel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The second volume of Hammel's Guadalcanal trilogy, this covers two relatively unknown carrier confrontations in the South Pacific in 1942: the battle of Santa Cruz, a technical victory for the Japanese, and the battle of the Eastern Solomons, a draw. Although most of the tight narrative is concerned with tactical operations, Hammel keeps the strategic goals of both sides in clear view. By the end of the book, it is also obvious why he argues that the battle of Midway, widely regarded as the beginning of the end for the Japanese, should be replaced as such in World War II annals by the Marine landing on Guadalcanal. The book includes informative sections on the development of aircraft carriers, the difference between American and Japanese fighter doctrine (plus appraisals of opposing hardware), the effect of a momentarily "defeatist attitude" by the U.S. command which led to a crisis in the land campaign on Guadalcanal, and a bold reappraisal of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Combined Fleet, whom the author calls one of the most overrated characters in modern military history. Photos.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Volume 2 of Hammel's Guadalcanal trilogy is even better than his previous book ( Guadalcanal: Starvation Island ). While that work focused on a land battle, this one concentrates on the desperate air-sea battle of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz islands. There have only been five carrier versus carrier battles in naval history; Coral Sea, Midway, and the Marianas have been criticized and analyzed many times. The battles treated here have until now been neglected. Hammel begins his study with a useful discussion of the development of U.S. and Japanese carriers, aircraft, pilot training, weapons, etc. Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed. Essential for World War II collections, along with volume 1. Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 516 pages
• Publisher: Pacifica Press (CA) (December 19, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935553355
• ISBN-13: 978-0935553352
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #120,057 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > History > Military > World War II > Home Front
  #82 in	Books > History > Military > World War II > Naval

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important Book ABout an Important Battle, August 17, 2002

By	Mr. Roy B. Mccammon (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

November 13, 1942 was the turning point of the Pacific war, yet few historians have written extensively about it. Previous writers have merely described that combat as a general melee in which it is impossible to reconstruct the tracts of individual ships. That may be true due to the loss of records, logs, and witnesses, but Hammel has done a credible job of reconstructing plausible positions for the various ships as the battle progressed.

Copyrighted in 1988, Hammel suggests in his Afterward that his reconstructions may be controversial. For example many writers agree that friendly fire from the US cruiser San Francisco hit the US cruiser Atlanta; Hammel is the first that I know of that says unequivocally that Atlanta was actually targeted. Other writers have said that Atlanta drifted into the line of fire. Interestingly enough, subsequent writers have reached the same conclusion as Hammel, or perhaps they have merely accepted Hammel's conclusion.

Most of this book concerns itself with the battle of the night of Nov 13-14. There is also material on the battles of the next two nights that assured the result.

Although this is an excellent book, I penalize it one star because it has only a single track-diagram of the first battle and there is no chronology. I especially miss the latter, because it appears that Hammel actually created a credible chronology yet did not share it. One hopes for a future release of that information.

The book I read was from the library, but I will probably buy a copy for myself.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Habitual reading at its highest, January 25, 2004

By	Ronald K. Frye (Leesville, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles - Carrier Operations in the Solomons, August-October 1942 (Hardcover)

This is the first book that I have ever read by Eric Hammel. Originally I had checked it out from my local library, but it was so outstanding and difficult to put down, that I purchased this book just to have my own copy. I want to read this book again and again. In fact this book has led me to purchase the Guadalcanal triology authored by Mr. Hammel. All books are now in my possession and a reading adventure that I will enjoy for years to come. Mr. Hammel's writing style and the amount of detail he includes will keep you on the edge of your reading chair late into the night.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best depictions of surface battle ever written, July 27, 2001

By	Dan Iwerks (Annandale, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Hammel does an absolutely amazing job of depicting the surface battles, better than any I've read anywhere before. Has a very intense, vivid writing style that makes the battle very clear to the reader. His descriptions of American destroyers pumping five-inch shell after five-inch shell into the crumbling bridgework of the battleship Hiei are really impressive stuff.